The foundation of The School’s guiding principles will be grounded in its responsibility and accountability to its stakeholders to provide a high quality educational program that promotes the academic success of its students. This school will be held accountable to local, district, and state standards of accountability.

Academic excellence will be The School’s top priority. Student achievement will be monitored to continuously evaluate the success of the curriculum and all programs offered by The School. In an effort to provide for multiple learning styles while maintaining a competitive edge among other schools in the community, a wide array of educational opportunities will be provided to students.

Parental involvement will be a crucial element leading to The School’s success. Parents will be encouraged to participate in many aspects of program selection and development, and logistical day-to-day operations of The School and its opportunities for students. By involving parents in the operations of The School as much as is possible, parents will feel a strong connection and ownership of the educational opportunities provided to their children. This approach will serve to benefit teachers, administrators, parents themselves, and most importantly, students.

The School will provide a highly rigorous academic curriculum and environment through the communication of high expectations for both students and teachers. The School will provide parents of students in grades 3-5 with Adequate Yearly Progress reports based on FCAT results indicating the student’s reading learning gains for each year. This information will be provided to parents, along with specific instruction as to how to read the report and what it means for their child’s education. Parents of all students will receive information regarding student’s reading level and current progress three times each year based upon data from the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR). At the initial parent orientation meeting, parents will be shown both the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) report and the information about the FAIR, and “a year’s worth of growth” will be discussed. Parents will be encouraged to collaborate with their students to set goals for achievement. Throughout the year, parents will be informed of all assessments their children will be participating in MISSION through use of the assessment calendar, reminder fliers, mass e-mails, and The School’s website. Once individual student FCAT scores are released, parent conferences will be scheduled. Every parent and student will have the opportunity to sit down with their teacher and/or other specialists to discuss FCAT and FAIR results, along with any other relevant assessment scores. Students will be encouraged to attend, as the School seeks to use assessment results as teaching tools for students to learn the value of goal-setting and self-monitoring. Guidance will be provided to students and parents regarding setting new goals for success and ways that parents can support their achievement.